Cats in the United States

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Cats in the United States include domestic cats and several kinds of wild cats. Domestic cats far outnumber wild cats.

Long-ago and saber-toothed cats
- In North America, many species of saber-toothed cats lived millions of years ago. They went extinct about 11,000 years ago due to climate change and humans.
- Some animals once called saber-toothed cats were not true cats at all; they were marsupials.

Big cats in the United States
- Jaguar (Panthera onca): Once found across parts of the U.S., mainly the Southwest. Today there are only occasional jaguars in Arizona; the species is mostly in South America.
- Cougar (Puma concolor): Also known as mountain lion, puma, or catamount. It is not a true Panthera big cat. Cougars are large and weigh around 150 pounds. They live across the Americas, with the most in western North America. In recent years, they have been moving into eastern areas where they used to be scarce, including the Midwest and parts of eastern Canada. Florida’s population has been continuous.

Medium and small wild cats
- Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis): Small numbers in parts of Texas and Arizona.
- Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) and bobcat (Lynx rufus): Lynx species found in the western U.S., New England, Alaska, and Canada; bobcats range from southern Canada to central Mexico.
- Jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi) and margay (Leopardus wiedii): once present near Texas, now likely gone from the United States.

Domestic cats
- The domestic cat (Felis catus) is a popular pet. About 93.5 million cats are kept as pets in the U.S., and roughly one in three households has at least one cat.
- About 87% of owned cats are spayed or neutered.

Health and entry into the United States
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not require a health certificate for cats entering the United States, but cats are inspected at ports of entry and may be denied entry.
- Hawaii and Guam require quarantine for cats brought into those places.

Organizations and cat campaigns
- There is no single umbrella SPCA; many independent SPCA organizations operate in the United States.
- The National Cat Groomers Institute of America certifies people in cat grooming.
- Cats Indoors! is a public education campaign by the American Bird Conservancy, supported by the National Audubon Society and other groups. Its goal is to keep domestic cats indoors to protect birds.